1978 Minnesota Twins season

1978  Minnesota Twins
League	American League
Division	West
Ballpark	Metropolitan Stadium
City	Bloomington, Minnesota
Owners	Calvin Griffith (majority owner, with Thelma Griffith Haynes)
General manager	Calvin Griffith
Manager	Gene Mauch
Television	WTCN (Harmon Killebrew, Joe Boyle)
Radio	830 WCCO AM (Herb Carneal, Frank Quilici)
←  1977 Seasons 1979  →

The 1978 Minnesota Twins season finished 73 wins and 89 losses, 4th place in the American League West Division.

Offseason

• October 3, 1977: Jim Hughes was released by the Twins. ^[1]
• October 3, 1977: Steve Luebber was released by the Twins. ^[2]
• October 25, 1977: Bombo Rivera was purchased by the Twins from the Montreal Expos. ^[3]
• December 6, 1977: Jesús Vega was drafted by the Twins from the Milwaukee Brewers in the minor league draft. ^[4]
• January 10, 1978: Jesse Orosco was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft. ^[5]
• March 23, 1978: Don Carrithers was released by the Twins. ^[6]

Regular season

On May 7, shortstop Roy Smalley Jr. set a Twins record by drawing five walks in a 15-9 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Smalley went 1 for 1 and scored three times. ^[7]

Third baseman Mike Cubbage, on July 27, became the fifth Twin to hit for the cycle (following Rod Carew, 1970; César Tovar, 1972; Larry Hisle, 1976 and Lyman Bostock, 1976). Cubbage went double, homer, single, triple off Toronto Blue Jays' pitching. In subsequent years, five others will match the feat: Gary Ward, 1980; Kirby Puckett, 1986; Carlos Gómez, 2008; Jason Kubel, 2009; and Michael Cuddyer, 2009.

787,878 fans attended Twins games, the second lowest total in the American League. Only one Twins player made the All-Star Game: first baseman Rod Carew. In that game at San Diego Stadium, Carew—in his twelfth consecutive All-Star appearance—performed an All-Star first by hitting two triples in the game.

Carew won his seventh AL batting title ^[8] with a .333 average, leading the team in hits and runs scored. Shortstop Roy Smalley hit 19 HR and collected 77 RBI. Dan Ford hit 11 HR and collected 82 RBI.

Reliever Mike Marshall was signed in May and replaced Tom Johnson and Bill Campbell as manager Gene Mauch's all-purpose reliever. Marshall went on to rack up 10 relief wins along with 21 saves. Three starters had double digit wins: Dave Goltz (15-10), Roger Erickson (14-13), and Geoff Zahn (14-14).

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Kansas City Royals	92	70	.568	—	56‍–‍25	36‍–‍45
Texas Rangers	87	75	.537	5	52‍–‍30	35‍–‍45
California Angels	87	75	.537	5	50‍–‍31	37‍–‍44
Minnesota Twins	73	89	.451	19	38‍–‍43	35‍–‍46
Chicago White Sox	71	90	.441	20½	38‍–‍42	33‍–‍48
Oakland Athletics	69	93	.426	23	38‍–‍42	31‍–‍51
Seattle Mariners	56	104	.350	35	32‍–‍49	24‍–‍55

Record vs. opponents

1978 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–8	4–6	8–1	9–6	7–8	2–8	7–8	5–5	6–9	11–0	9–1	7–4	8–7
Boston	8–7	—	9–2	7–3	7–8	12–3	4–6	10–5	9–2	7–9	5–5	7–3	3–7	11–4
California	6–4	2–9	—	8–7	6–4	4–7	9–6	5–5	12–3	5–5	9–6	9–6	5–10	7–3
Chicago	1–8	3–7	7–8	—	8–2	2–9	8–7	4–7	8–7	1–9	7–8	7–8	11–4	4–6
Cleveland	6–9	8–7	4–6	2–8	—	5–10	5–6	5–10	5–5	6–9	4–6	8–1	1–9	10–4
Detroit	8–7	3–12	7–4	9–2	10–5	—	4–6	7–8	4–6	4–11	6–4	8–2	7–3	9–6
Kansas City	8–2	6–4	6–9	7–8	6–5	6–4	—	6–4	7–8	6–5	10–5	12–3	7–8	5–5
Milwaukee	8–7	5–10	5–5	7–4	10–5	8–7	4–6	—	4–7	10–5	9–1	5–5	6–4	12–3
Minnesota	5–5	2–9	3–12	7–8	5–5	6–4	8–7	7–4	—	3–7	9–6	6–9	6–9	6–4
New York	9–6	9–7	5–5	9–1	9–6	11–4	5–6	5–10	7–3	—	8–2	6–5	6–4	11–4
Oakland	0–11	5–5	6–9	8–7	6–4	4–6	5–10	1–9	6–9	2–8	—	13–2	6–9	7–4
Seattle	1–9	3–7	6–9	8–7	1–8	2–8	3–12	5–5	9–6	5–6	2–13	—	3–12	8–2
Texas	4–7	7–3	10–5	4–11	9–1	3–7	8–7	4–6	9–6	4–6	9–6	12–3	—	4–7
Toronto	7–8	4–11	3–7	6–4	4–10	6–9	5–5	3–12	4–6	4–11	4–7	2–8	7–4	—

Opening Day starters

• Rod Carew
• Dan Ford
• Craig Kusick
• Willie Norwood
• Bob Randall
• Bombo Rivera
• Roy Smalley
• Larry Wolfe
• Butch Wynegar
• Geoff Zahn ^[9]

Notable transactions

• May 15, 1978: Mike Marshall was signed as a free agent by the Twins. ^[10]
• June 6, 1978: 1978 Major League Baseball draft
  • Lenny Faedo was drafted by the Twins in the 1st round (16th pick). ^[11]
  • Kent Hrbek was drafted by the Twins in the 17th round. ^[12]

Roster

1978 Minnesota Twins
Roster
Pitchers 19 Roger Erickson 30 Dave Goltz 37 Roric Harrison 21,36 Jeff Holly 31 Darrell Jackson 27 Dave Johnson 21 Tom Johnson 33,28 Mike Marshall 39 Stan Perzanowski 17 Pete Redfern 28 Mac Scarce 20 Gary Serum 40 John Sutton 18 Greg Thayer 23 Paul Thormodsgard 38 Geoff Zahn		Catchers 14 Glenn Borgmann 16 Butch Wynegar Infielders 29 Rod Carew 26 Mike Cubbage 22 Craig Kusick 34 José Morales 32 Bob Randall  5 Roy Smalley  7 Rob Wilfong  1 Larry Wolfe		Outfielders  8 Glenn Adams 12 Rich Chiles 33 Dave Edwards 15 Dan Ford 24 Willie Norwood 10 Hosken Powell  9 Bombo Rivera		Manager  4 Gene Mauch Coaches 41 Karl Kuehl  6 Tony Oliva 42 Camilo Pascual 43 Jerry Zimmerman

Game log

Legend
	Twins win
	Twins loss
	Postponement
Bold	Twins team member

1978 game log: 73–89 (Home: 38–43; Away: 35–46)
April: 8–16 (Home: 3–8; Away: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 1 April 5 @ Mariners 2–3 Abbott (1–0) Goltz (0–1) Romo (1) 45,235 0–1 L1 2 April 6 @ Mariners 5–4 Erickson (1–0) Pole (0–1) T. Johnson (1) 10,311 1–1 W1 3 April 7 @ Mariners 3–6 Honeycutt (1–0) Redfern (0–1) Romo (2) 11,530 1–2 L1 4 April 8 @ Mariners 8–2 Thormodsgard (1–0) Mitchell (0–1) 12,896 2–2 W1 5 April 9 @ Mariners 8–6 Serum (1–0) House (0–1) 11,803 3–2 W2 6 April 10 @ Angels 0–3 Brett (1–0) Goltz (0–2) 10,074 3–3 L1 7 April 11 @ Angels 8–1 Erickson (2–0) Aase (0–1) 12,217 4–3 W1 8 April 12 @ Angels 5–9 Tanana (2–0) Redfern (0–2) LaRoche (2) 12,295 4–4 L1 9 April 13 @ Angels 0–1 (11) LaRoche (1–0) T. Johnson (0–1) 11,702 4–5 L2 10 April 14 Mariners 14–5 Zahn (1–0) House (0–2) 17,425 5–5 W1 11 April 15 Mariners 6–5 (11) T. Johnson (1–1) Montague (0–1) 7,471 6–5 W2 12 April 16 Mariners 5–8 Pole (1–2) Erickson (2–1) Rawley (1) – 6–6 L1 13 April 16 Mariners 2–7 House (1–2) D. Johnson (0–1) 14,021 6–7 L2 14 April 17 Athletics 2–7 Broberg (2–0) Thormodsgard (1–1) 2,054 6–8 L3 — April 18 Athletics Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 11 15 April 19 Athletics 5–6 (11) Sosa (1–0) T. Johnson (1–2) 1,935 6–9 L4 16 April 21 Angels 2–3 Aase (1–1) Goltz (0–3) LaRoche (3) 4,516 6–10 L5 17 April 22 Angels 3–5 Tanana (4–0) Erickson (2–2) Hartzell (3) 6,566 6–11 L6 — April 23 Angels Postponed (rain); Makeup: June 22 — April 24 @ Athletics Postponed (rain); Makeup: April 25 18 April 25 @ Athletics 3–5 Sosa (2–0) Thayer (0–1) – 6–12 L7 19 April 25 @ Athletics 3–4 (14) Coleman (1–0) T. Johnson (1–3) 4,808 6–13 L8 20 April 26 @ Athletics 8–9 (12) Coleman (2–0) T. Johnson (1–4) 4,127 6–14 L9 21 April 27 @ Athletics 6–1 Serum (2–0) Wirth (1–2) 4,645 7–14 W1 22 April 28 Yankees 1–3 Figueroa (3–1) Thormodsgard (1–2) 11,674 7–15 L1 23 April 29 Yankees 3–1 Zahn (2–0) Tidrow (1–2) 10,543 8–15 W1 24 April 30 Yankees 2–3 Gossage (1–3) Scarce (0–1) 13,929 8–16 L1
May: 11–12 (Home: 4–5; Away: 7–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 25 May 3 @ Red Sox 9–11 Burgmeier (1–0) D. Johnson (0–2) Stanley (2) 16,403 8–17 L2 26 May 4 @ Red Sox 1–8 Eckersley (1–1) Thormodsgard (1–3) 15,784 8–18 L3 27 May 5 @ Orioles 1–2 Flanagan (2–3) Zahn (2–1) 3,897 8–19 L4 28 May 6 @ Orioles 8–7 Thayer (1–1) Stanhouse (0–2) T. Johnson (2) 26,870 9–19 W1 29 May 7 @ Orioles 15–9 Scarce (1–1) Palmer (3–2) 8,923 10–19 W2 — May 8 @ Yankees Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 30 30 May 9 @ Yankees 1–3 Hunter (2–3) Thormodsgard (1–4) Lyle (5) 11,271 10–20 L1 31 May 10 @ White Sox 2–7 Wortham (1–1) Erickson (2–3) 8,338 10–21 L2 — May 11 @ White Sox Postponed (rain); Makeup: June 25 — May 12 Red Sox Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 24 32 May 13 Red Sox 2–4 Torrez (5–1) Zahn (2–2) Burgmeier (2) 7,914 10–22 L3 33 May 14 Red Sox 2–6 Eckersley (3–1) Thormodsgard (1–5) Burgmeier (3) 7,008 10–23 L4 34 May 15 Orioles 9–6 (10) Marshall (1–0) Flinn (1–1) 3,847 11–23 W1 35 May 16 Orioles 8–1 Goltz (1–3) Palmer (3–4) T. Johnson (3) 4,893 12–23 W2 36 May 18 @ Royals 8–6 Zahn (3–2) Leonard (3–7) Marshall (1) 17,459 13–23 W3 37 May 19 @ Royals 5–3 Erickson (3–3) Pattin (1–1) Marshall (2) 31,574 14–23 W4 38 May 20 @ Royals 3–6 Gale (4–0) Thormodsgard (1–6) Hrabosky (5) 30,312 14–24 L1 39 May 21 @ Royals 3–2 Serum (3–0) Splittorff (4–4) Marshall (3) 29,079 15–24 W1 40 May 22 Rangers 2–0 Zahn (4–2) Matlack (4–5) Marshall (4) 6,108 16–24 W2 41 May 23 Rangers 5–2 Erickson (4–3) Umbarger (2–3) 6,791 17–24 W3 42 May 24 Rangers 2–3 (11) Lindblad (1–0) Marshall (1–1) Medich (1) 7,598 17–25 L1 43 May 25 Rangers 1–7 Jenkins (5–2) Serum (3–1) 7,644 17–26 L2 — May 26 Royals Postponed (rain); Makeup: August 16 — May 27 Royals Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 22 44 May 28 Royals 7–8 (12) Gura (3–1) Marshall (1–2) 22,266 17–27 L3 45 May 29 @ Rangers 1–7 D. Ellis (3–2) Serum (3–2) – 17–28 L4 46 May 29 @ Rangers 7–2 Erickson (5–3) Umbarger (2–4) Marshall (5) 28,317 18–28 W1 47 May 30 @ Rangers 2–0 Zahn (5–2) Jenkins (5–3) Marshall (6) 12,718 19–28 W2
June: 11–13 (Home: 4–5; Away: 7–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 48 June 1 @ Rangers 7–10 Comer (1–1) Marshall (1–3) 16,084 19–29 L1 49 June 2 @ Tigers 4–2 Erickson (6–3) Billingham (4–3) Marshall (7) 21,127 20–29 W1 50 June 3 @ Tigers 9–2 Goltz (2–3) Sykes (3–3) 21,227 21–29 W2 51 June 4 @ Tigers 4–6 Morris (1–1) Zahn (5–3) 36,575 21–30 L1 52 June 7 White Sox 3–8 Kravec (4–4) Erickson (6–4) 6,627 21–31 L2 53 June 8 White Sox 1–2 Wood (6–5) Goltz (2–4) Willoughby (5) 11,071 21–32 L3 54 June 9 @ Indians 3–7 Clyde (4–0) Zahn (5–4) Kern (4) 8,390 21–33 L4 55 June 10 @ Indians 3–4 Wise (4–9) Marshall (1–4) Kern (5) 16,048 21–34 L5 56 June 11 @ Indians 1–2 (10) Paxton (3–3) Marshall (1–5) 25,547 21–35 L6 — June 12 @ Blue Jays Postponed (rain); Makeup: June 13 57 June 13 @ Blue Jays 2–0 Goltz (3–4) Moore (2–1) Marshall (8) – 22–35 W1 58 June 13 @ Blue Jays 7–2 Zahn (6–4) Clancy (4–5) 14,489 23–35 W2 59 June 14 Indians 8–2 Erickson (7–4) Clyde (4–1) 6,612 24–35 W3 — June 15 Indians Postponed (rain); Makeup: September 3 60 June 16 Tigers 5–2 Jackson (1–0) Rozema (2–3) 9,479 25–35 W4 61 June 17 Tigers 3–1 Zahn (7–4) Wilcox (3–5) 9,807 26–35 W5 62 June 18 Tigers 8–4 Goltz (4–4) Slaton (6–4) Marshall (9) 21,480 27–35 W6 63 June 20 Angels 5–10 Tanana (11–3) Erickson (7–5) 12,330 27–36 L1 64 June 21 Angels 2–5 Aase (4–3) Zahn (7–5) 10,801 27–37 L2 65 June 22 Angels 2–4 (12) LaRoche (6–3) Marshall (1–6) 7,488 27–38 L3 66 June 23 @ White Sox 2–1 Goltz (5–4) Kravec (6–5) 28,082 28–38 W1 67 June 24 @ White Sox 4–7 Wood (7–5) Jackson (1–1) LaGrow (8) 27,433 28–39 L1 68 June 25 @ White Sox 8–5 Marshall (2–6) Schueler (3–2) – 29–39 W1 69 June 25 @ White Sox 9–6 Erickson (8–5) Hinton (1–1) Marshall (10) 20,137 30–39 W2 70 June 26 @ Brewers 2–8 Sorensen (10–4) Serum (3–3) 7,988 30–40 L1 71 June 27 @ Brewers 6–13 Replogle (4–1) Goltz (5–5) 16,137 30–41 L2 — June 30 White Sox Postponed (rain); Makeup: July 2
July: 15–15 (Home: 9–7; Away: 6–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 72 July 1 White Sox 10–0 Goltz (6–5) Barrios (5–8) 7,533 31–41 W1 73 July 2 White Sox 5–8 Wood (9–5) Zahn (7–6) Willoughby (10) – 31–42 L1 74 July 2 White Sox 9–5 Marshall (3–6) Schueler (3–3) 26,897 32–42 W1 75 July 3 Brewers 7–2 Erickson (9–5) Augustine (9–9) 19,062 33–42 W2 76 July 4 Brewers 7–2 Serum (4–3) Travers (4–4) 26,263 34–42 W3 77 July 5 Brewers 3–1 Goltz (7–5) Sorensen (11–5) 11,409 35–42 W4 78 July 7 @ Athletics 3–2 Zahn (8–6) Renko (3–4) Marshall (11) – 36–42 W5 79 July 7 @ Athletics 1–0 Jackson (2–1) Langford (1–7) 7,239 37–42 W6 80 July 8 @ Athletics 9–8 (11) Marshall (4–6) Heaverlo (3–4) 12,201 38–42 W7 81 July 9 @ Athletics 7–0 Goltz (8–5) Broberg (9–7) 4,720 39–42 W8 ASG July 11 AL @ NL 3–7 Sutter (1–0) Gossage (0–1) 51,549 — N/A 82 July 13 @ Orioles 6–8 Flanagan (13–6) Goltz (8–6) T. Martinez (3) 8,119 39–43 L1 83 July 14 @ Orioles 1–5 McGregor (9–8) Zahn (8–7) 24,195 39–44 L2 84 July 15 @ Red Sox 4–5 Lee (10–3) Jackson (2–2) Stanley (6) 32,861 39–45 L3 85 July 16 @ Red Sox 3–5 Eckersley (11–2) Harrison (0–1) Campbell (4) – 39–46 L4 86 July 16 @ Red Sox 2–3 Wright (5–1) Erickson (9–6) Stanley (7) 35,589 39–47 L5 87 July 17 @ Red Sox 2–3 (10) Campbell (6–5) Marshall (4–7) 33,233 39–48 L6 88 July 19 Yankees 0–2 Figueroa (8–7) Zahn (8–8) 29,591 39–49 L7 89 July 20 Yankees 0–4 Guidry (14–1) Jackson (2–3) 30,660 39–50 L8 90 July 21 Orioles 4–5 (10) Stanhouse (4–5) Marshall (4–8) 14,702 39–51 L9 91 July 22 Orioles 5–4 Goltz (9–6) McGregor (10–9) 10,063 40–51 W1 92 July 23 Orioles 5–8 Palmer (12–8) Serum (4–4) Stanhouse (13) 30,896 40–52 L1 93 July 24 Red Sox 5–4 Jackson (3–3) Drago (2–4) Marshall (12) – 41–52 W1 94 July 24 Red Sox 2–4 Hassler (2–4) Zahn (8–9) Stanley (8) 21,580 41–53 L1 95 July 25 Red Sox 5–2 Erickson (10–6) Lee (10–5) Marshall (13) 18,608 42–53 W1 96 July 26 Blue Jays 1–5 Moore (5–2) Goltz (9–7) 6,014 42–54 L1 97 July 27 Blue Jays 6–3 Perzanowski (1–0) Clancy (7–8) 18,285 43–54 W1 98 July 28 @ Yankees 7–5 (10) Marshall (5–8) Lyle (7–2) 25,037 44–54 W2 99 July 29 @ Yankees 3–7 Clay (2–3) Jackson (3–4) Gossage (15) 46,711 44–55 L1 100 July 30 @ Yankees 3–4 Gossage (7–9) Marshall (5–9) – 44–56 L2 101 July 30 @ Yankees 2–0 Goltz (10–7) Beattie (2–5) Marshall (14) 41,491 45–56 W1
August: 13–19 (Home: 9–9; Away: 4–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 102 August 1 @ Mariners 6–13 House (5–4) Perzanowski (1–1) 9,272 45–57 L1 103 August 2 @ Mariners 1–3 Colborn (3–8) Zahn (8–10) 8,394 45–58 L2 104 August 3 @ Mariners 5–6 Romo (9–3) Marshall (5–10) 9,471 45–59 L3 105 August 4 @ Angels 3–12 Fitzmorris (1–1) Serum (4–5) Brett (1) 17,411 45–60 L4 106 August 5 @ Angels 4–3 Erickson (11–6) Tanana (14–7) – 46–60 W1 107 August 5 @ Angels 3–4 Knapp (11–6) Perzanowski (1–2) LaRoche (16) 41,723 46–61 L1 108 August 6 @ Angels 3–4 LaRoche (8–5) Marshall (5–11) 17,628 46–62 L2 109 August 7 Mariners 5–6 (14) Todd (2–3) Perzanowski (1–3) 6,657 46–63 L3 110 August 8 Mariners 10–2 Serum (5–5) Honeycutt (4–7) 6,499 47–63 W1 111 August 9 Mariners 1–4 Abbott (5–9) Erickson (11–7) Todd (2) 6,814 47–64 L1 112 August 11 Athletics 0–2 Langford (6–7) Zahn (8–11) – 47–65 L2 113 August 11 Athletics 3–2 Jackson (4–4) Broberg (9–10) Marshall (15) 13,795 48–65 W1 114 August 12 Athletics 6–3 Perzanowski (2–3) Renko (6–7) Marshall (16) 11,740 49–65 W2 115 August 13 Athletics 3–1 Serum (6–5) Keough (7–10) – 50–65 W3 116 August 13 Athletics 2–1 Erickson (12–7) Norris (0–1) 18,577 51–65 W4 117 August 14 @ Indians 3–4 Paxton (9–6) Holly (0–1) Kern (10) 6,513 51–66 L1 118 August 15 @ Indians 9–8 Marshall (6–11) Monge (3–2) Serum (1) 6,971 52–66 W1 119 August 16 Royals 5–1 Zahn (9–11) Bird (4–6) – 53–66 W2 120 August 16 Royals 7–11 Splittorff (14–10) Perzanowski (2–4) Mingori (7) 14,640 53–67 L1 121 August 17 Royals 6–5 (10) Erickson (13–7) Gura (10–3) 15,936 54–67 W1 122 August 18 Blue Jays 4–3 (10) Holly (1–1) Murphy (4–9) 4,599 55–67 W2 123 August 19 Blue Jays 5–0 Serum (7–5) Garvin (3–12) 10,745 56–67 W3 124 August 20 Blue Jays 2–6 Kirkwood (2–1) Perzanowski (2–5) Murphy (7) 11,685 56–68 L1 125 August 21 Tigers 6–9 Billingham (14–5) Zahn (9–12) 7,419 56–69 L2 126 August 22 Tigers 3–7 Slaton (13–9) Perzanowski (2–6) 7,726 56–70 L3 127 August 23 Rangers 0–2 Comer (6–3) Erickson (13–8) 7,157 56–71 L4 128 August 24 Rangers 1–4 (10) Jenkins (12–8) Goltz (10–8) 8,666 56–72 L5 129 August 25 @ Blue Jays 3–7 Kirkwood (3–1) Serum (7–6) Willis (7) 15,206 56–73 L6 130 August 26 @ Blue Jays 3–4 (10) Cruz (5–1) Zahn (9–13) 25,601 56–74 L7 131 August 27 @ Blue Jays 3–2 (11) Marshall (7–11) Willis (2–6) 22,023 57–74 W1 132 August 29 @ Tigers 2–4 Wilcox (12–8) Goltz (10–9) 13,839 57–75 L1 133 August 31 @ Tigers 4–1 Zahn (10–13) Young (5–4) Marshall (17) 16,995 58–75 W1
September: 15–13 (Home: 9–9; Away: 6–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 134 September 1 Indians 1–4 Clyde (6–9) Erickson (13–9) Spillner (3) 4,917 58–76 L1 135 September 2 Indians 2–1 Goltz (11–9) Reuschel (2–2) Marshall (18) 6,775 59–76 W1 136 September 3 Indians 12–3 Serum (8–6) Wise (9–18) – 60–76 W2 137 September 3 Indians 4–3 Marshall (8–11) Kern (8–9) 10,240 61–76 W3 138 September 4 White Sox 2–1 Zahn (11–13) Barrios (8–13) 6,978 62–76 W4 139 September 5 White Sox 3–4 Trout (1–0) Erickson (13–10) LaGrow (15) 3,630 62–77 L1 140 September 6 White Sox 0–1 Kravec (11–13) Goltz (11–10) 3,648 62–78 L2 141 September 8 Brewers 0–3 Replogle (8–2) Serum (8–7) 9,262 62–79 L3 142 September 9 Brewers 0–3 Caldwell (18–9) Erickson (13–11) 10,639 62–80 L4 143 September 10 Brewers 3–1 Goltz (12–10) Travers (10–9) 10,512 63–80 W1 144 September 11 @ White Sox 3–1 Zahn (12–13) Kravec (11–14) Marshall (19) 7,342 64–80 W2 145 September 12 @ White Sox 1–6 Hinton (2–4) Serum (8–8) 6,279 64–81 L1 146 September 15 @ Brewers 10–3 Erickson (14–11) Travers (10–10) 12,456 65–81 W1 147 September 16 @ Brewers 5–2 Goltz (13–10) Sorensen (17–11) Marshall (20) 37,809 66–81 W2 148 September 17 @ Brewers 4–3 Serum (9–8) Replogle (9–3) Marshall (21) 11,007 67–81 W3 149 September 18 Angels 10–4 Zahn (13–13) Knapp (14–8) Perzanowski (1) 2,278 68–81 W4 150 September 19 Angels 1–4 Ryan (8–13) Erickson (14–12) 3,747 68–82 L1 151 September 20 Rangers 5–3 Goltz (14–10) Comer (9–5) 2,736 69–82 W1 152 September 21 Rangers 3–6 Matlack (14–13) Serum (9–9) 3,312 69–83 L1 153 September 22 Royals 2–4 Gura (15–4) Jackson (4–5) – 69–84 L2 154 September 22 Royals 4–0 Zahn (14–13) Pattin (3–3) 5,175 70–84 W1 155 September 23 Royals 1–3 Splittorff (19–12) Erickson (14–13) Hrabosky (20) 13,288 70–85 L1 156 September 24 Royals 6–4 Goltz (15–10) Mingori (1–4) 6,627 71 –85 W1 157 September 25 @ Rangers 2–3 (11) Cleveland (5–8) Marshall (8–12) 6,404 71–86 L1 158 September 26 @ Rangers 6–2 Marshall (9–12) Mirabella (2–2) 6,797 72–86 W1 159 September 27 @ Rangers 5–10 Mirabella (3–2) Perzanowski (2–7) 9,601 72–87 L1 160 September 29 @ Royals 0–4 Leonard (21–17) Jackson (4–6) 31,794 72–88 L2 161 September 30 @ Royals 7–3 (11) Marshall (10–12) McGilberry (0–1) 29,089 73–88 W1
October: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–1) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 162 October 1 @ Royals 0–1 Throop (1–0) Zahn (14–14) Paschall (1) 23,794 73–89 L1

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

= Indicates league leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Butch Wynegar	135	454	104	.229	4	45
1B	Rod Carew	152	564	188	.333	5	70
2B	Bob Randall	119	330	89	.270	0	21
SS	Roy Smalley	158	586	160	.273	19	77
3B	Mike Cubbage	125	394	111	.282	7	57
LF	Willie Norwood	125	428	109	.255	8	46
CF	Dan Ford	151	592	162	.274	11	82
RF	Hosken Powell	121	381	94	.247	3	31
DH	Glenn Adams	116	310	80	.258	7	35

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Bombo Rivera	101	251	68	.271	3	23
José Morales	101	242	76	.314	2	38
Larry Wolfe	88	235	55	.234	3	25
Rob Wilfong	92	199	53	.266	1	11
Rich Chiles	87	198	53	.268	1	22
Craig Kusick	77	191	33	.173	4	20
Glenn Borgmann	49	123	26	.211	3	15
Dave Edwards	15	44	11	.250	1	3

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Roger Erickson	37	265.2	14	13	3.96	121
Geoff Zahn	35	252.1	14	14	3.03	106
Dave Goltz	29	220.1	15	10	2.49	116
Darrell Jackson	19	92.1	4	6	4.48	54
Paul Thormodsgard	12	66.0	1	6	5.05	23

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Gary Serum	34	184.1	9	9	4.10	80
Stan Perzanowski	13	56.2	2	7	5.24	31
Dave Johnson	6	12.0	0	2	7.50	7
Pete Redfern	3	9.2	0	2	6.52	4

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Mike Marshall	54	10	12	21	2.45	56
Greg Thayer	20	1	1	0	3.80	30
Tom Johnson	18	1	4	3	5.51	21
John Sutton	17	0	0	0	3.45	18
Mac Scarce	17	1	1	0	3.94	17
Jeff Holly	15	1	1	0	3.57	12
Roric Harrison	9	0	1	0	7.50	7

Awards and Honors

All-Star Game

• Rod Carew, Starter

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Cal Ermer
AA	Orlando Twins	Southern League	Johnny Goryl
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Roy McMillan
A	Wisconsin Rapids Twins	Midwest League	Rick Stelmaszek
Rookie	Elizabethton Twins	Appalachian League	Fred Waters

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Visalia, Elizabethton

Notes

1. Jim Hughes at Baseball Reference
2. Steve Luebber at Baseball Reference
3. Bombo Rivera at Baseball Reference
4. Jesús Vega at Baseball Reference
5. Jesse Orosco at Baseball Reference
6. Don Carrithers at Baseball Reference
7. "Smalley Draws 5 Walks". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
8. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 107, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN   978-0-451-22363-0
9. "1978 Minnesota Twins Roster by Baseball Almanac".
10. Mike Marshall at Baseball Reference
11. Lenny Faedo at Baseball Reference
12. Kent Hrbek at Baseball Reference

References

• Player stats from www.baseball-reference.com
• Team info from www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-0-9637189-8-3.